


He Keeps Me Warm

by dwarrowdams



Series: Rogues Do It From Behind [7]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Gen, Kindness, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 15:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5253986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwarrowdams/pseuds/dwarrowdams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things between Gilan and Zevran are tense, but that doesn't mean that Gilan cares any less.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kindled

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a piece that reveals some of the tension between Gilan and Zevran after Taliesin but before they tell each other that they're in love because apparently, I'm a huge sucker for romantic tension. This (and the next chapter) are relatively short, but I do hope to play with the romantic tension a little more in the future ("the future" being when I don't have a bunch of essays to write and a bunch more to grade). Thank you for reading; I hope you enjoy it!

After less than an hour of keeping watch as his companions slept, Gilan had concluded that the Deep Roads were even worse the second time around.

 

He had been happy to leave them a few weeks ago after resolving Orzammar’s political issues.  But Shale had asked that they return in order to find some clue to their past and Gilan had been loath to refuse.  Tirzah had elected to stay behind for this particular mission, preferring not to revisit Orzammar.  Gilan hadn’t objected, of course—she had every reason to want to stay away from her former homeland—but he felt uneasy leading the group, as though he were an imposter.  Still, they’d managed to make it halfway to Cadash Thaig without anyone dying tragically, so perhaps he wasn’t totally inept.

 

In fact, the only questionable choice that Gilan had made thus far was his decision to bring Zevran along.  Normally, he enjoyed the elf’s company immensely, but since their encounter with Taliesin, Zevran had pulled away from him.  Gilan didn’t know what exactly had caused this sudden change, but it worried him.  When he’d asked Zevran into his tent about a week ago, the elf had balked at the idea, refusing Gilan’s company without giving a reason.  Since then, the two of them had barely spoken.  Gilan had hoped that bringing Zevran along would ease the tension between them, but it had done no such thing.  Gilan tried not to think about the implications of Zevran’s silence, but something told him that their relationship might be in its final days.

 

He sighed as quietly as he could, returning his attention to the darkness of the Deep Roads ahead of him.  Gilan had offered to keep watch since he was the only one out of their group who could sense the darkspawn.  Under other circumstances, he would’ve regretted not bringing Alistair along so that they could take turns, but Gilan hadn’t been sleeping well lately.  He’d rather have something to occupy these hours instead of tossing and turning in his bedroll, his mind plagued with worry.  True, the darkspawn hadn’t been particularly active tonight, but the prospect of a nighttime attack kept Gilan from dwelling too much on his situation with Zevran.

 

He glanced over at his companions to insure that they were safe and undisturbed.  Wynne lay under several blankets, her legs slightly curled, her staff a few inches away from her.  Shale stood off on the other side of the makeshift camp, their crystals illuminating the scene.  And Zevran lay only a couple of yards away from Gilan, curled tightly into a ball, bedroll wrapped tightly around his slender form, shivering slightly in the cool air.

 

Under other circumstances, Gilan would have laid down next to him and curled around him, trying to provide some of the warmth that Zevran lacked, but he wasn’t sure how the elf would react to this.  Still, he couldn’t sit here and watch Zevran shiver for the whole night.

 

Moving slowly so as not to wake him, Gilan took his own bedroll and draped it carefully over Zevran’s sleeping form.  He stayed there for a few moments, relishing the sound of the elf’s breathing, before arising and returning to his post.  He glanced back at Zevran, resisting the urge to whisper something gentle to him, before turning back to gaze into the darkness of the Deep Roads ahead of him.


	2. Extinguished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zevran responds to Gilan's actions from the previous night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two! Enjoy!

“This is yours, I take it.”

 

Gilan looked up to see Zevran standing above him, holding his bedroll.  “Yep,” he replied as he stood, taking it from Zevran’s hands.

 

“You did not need to do that, you know,” Zevran said.  “I do not want you to lose sleep because of me.”

 

Gilan bit back a wry smile—if only Zevran knew how much sleep Gilan had lost over him.  “Don’t worry about it, Zevran,” he said.  “Really.  I was keeping watch anyways.”

 

“For the whole night?”

 

“Yep.  The darkspawn don’t sleep—well, probably not.”

 

“Nor do you, apparently.”

 

Gilan smiled—partly to reassure Zevran, partly because this was the most they’d spoken in days.  “I’m fine.  I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep last night, so there was no point in trying,” he said in way of reassurance.  Of course, he hadn’t slept much—if at all—for the past several nights, but Zevran didn’t need to know that.

 

“Still,” Zevran said, “you do not need to do this sort of thing for me.”

 

“I know that,” Gilan said.  “But I want to.  And I couldn’t stand to see you shivering and not do something about it.”

 

Zevran reached up, brushing a strand of Gilan’s hair back behind his ear.  “You are a rare sort, you know,” he murmured before pulling away almost reluctantly.

 

“I…thanks, Zev,” Gilan murmured, taking the elf’s hand and squeezing it briefly.  Perhaps things between them weren’t so bleak as he’d originally thought.

 

Zevran opened his mouth, clearly about to speak, when Shale interrupted them.  “I see that it is up and ready,” Shale said.  “I assume that this means that we will be leaving shortly?”

 

Gilan took a step back from Zevran, mentally cursing Shale’s timing.  “I assume it does,” he said.  “Looks like we’d better get moving.”


End file.
